D016 Task 1

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Western Governors University *

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D016

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Management

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by SuperHumanWorld11345

Isaac R. MacKenzie Course D016: Leadership Foundations and Ethics Task 1 Instructor: Bob Murry June 5, 2023

A. Leadership Style Evaluation This video depicts a small school in a blue-collar working town. At this particular high school, the students struggled with their reading test scores. Not many of the students at this high school went on to further their education after high school. Most of the students went on to join the military or start an industrial career. In comes a new principal with a plan. If the school can help these students raise their reading scores this might help students want to go on to college. The principal decided to use transformational leadership to approach the issue of only 51% of students passing the Junior reading assessment. (Green 2017) states, transformational leaders have a vision of the organization’s future, can effectively communicate that vision to followers, and understand the importance of its attainment. Being that it was at the end of the school year, there wasn’t time to implement a plan where he could inform his staff, get proper feedback, then move forward with the plan. The stakeholders, teachers, students (internal), and parents, community members (external) in this policy change were not consulted or notified properly. If the principal had consulted both the internal and external stakeholders this plan may have been more successful. With limited time the principal decided to use a Laissez-Faire style of leadership. This style requires that a leader hands over, or delegates, the power of decision-making and action planning to the followers while remaining responsible for the outcomes. (Marin and Moore, 2018). The reading scores were 51.8% for the current Juniors, a decline from three years before when they were 53.1%. Nearly 50% of the students were not at a proficient level in reading. The principal gave the reading department (English teachers) the task of coming up with a plan of action. So, they decided to have students read over the summer. They would give them a

book bank of 30 books to pick from, where each student would have to read 3 books. At the end of the summer, they would give reports on the books they read. Those report scores would be added to that first quarter grade for the new school year. The principal contemplated the plan. He then determined if it aligned with the school’s mission statement, vision, and values. He then allowed the plan to move forward. The team that developed this plan of action only wanted to improve reading scores, they did not consider how this would affect students, parents, and the community. External stakeholders, the superintendent, and the school board members were excluded from the decision-making process. It states in the school's mission statement “In partnership with parents and the community” (WGU 2019). They forgot about the partnership part. When evaluating the principal's styles of leadership (Transformational and Laissze-Faire) throughout the process of installing the new policy, it was evident that the new policy was a failure. The principal accepted full responsibility for its failure. Using transformational leadership, the principal had a vision for the new policy but did not effectively communicate that vision with all stakeholders. When the principal transitioned to using the Laissze-Faire style of leadership, he gave too much free rein to the English teachers. The external stakeholders were not informed or part of the implementation of the new reading program. Only a portion of the students completed the summer reading program. This program left many parents upset. It took away time from students in the summer to spend with their family and friends. Many parents were upset at the book selection for the required reading as well. A1. Leadership Style Recommendations A couple of different leadership styles could have been used for this scenario. The principal could have used an authoritative or democratic style of leadership, to achieve his goal.

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If he had used authoritative leadership, this would have addressed short-term and long-term goals. He would not have to do everything on his own. He would still be able to get input from students, teachers, administration, and the community. He then could formulate a plan using the input and his expertise to move forward with a plan. (Marin and Moore 2018), states that a principal leading in this style uses expertise to make decisions and determine a path for achieving his or her vision. In turn, the principal then uses that expertise to mobilize followers into action around that vision. As such, the principal is the sole owner of all decisions, taking full ownership of success or failure. Using a democratic leadership style could have been beneficial in this scenario. This style includes everyone in the decision-making process. With this style of leadership the principal, staff, and teachers are viewed as equals. This style would allow the teachers to have a voice but also allows the principal to voice his opinions and ideas. This allows for shared decision-making that will benefit learning and student growth. This style instills trust in the group throughout the decision-making process. This would promote teamwork and knowing that the principal respects their opinions. The committee was originally only formed of teachers. With the democratic leadership style, the community could now be involved, including external stakeholders in the decision-making process. Parents could now be informed of the program, so they can give input and share concerns. Libraries, bookstores, and audiobook online sites could be informed of the program with the hopes of acquiring more books or ebooks for students. B. Applied Leadership Responsibility A leadership responsibility applied was flexibility. He adapted his leadership style from a transformational to a Laissez-Faire style. He was busy during the implementation of this program and he thought the English teachers had a good grasp on what they wanted to get done.

Another leadership responsibility the principal used was input responsibility. The principal incorporated the teachers in the planning and implementation of the program. (Marzano 2005) The teachers were able to have full freedom to brainstorm what they could do to improve the reading scores, and full freedom of coming up with a proposal to present to the principal. The principal involved the teachers in the implementation of the new policy by allowing them to come up with how many points the assignment was worth when it was due, and what books were approved on each list. B1. Leadership Responsibilities Justification A leadership responsibility the principal could have addressed is Resources. The resources and accessibility for students were lacking. The principal did not contact libraries, bookstores, or audible websites to compile the needed materials for student success. Situational Awareness could have been used as a leadership responsibility. By using situational awareness, the principal would have had information to address current and potential problems before they ever became problems (Marzano 2005). If the principal was aware of the details of the new policy and researched to determine this policy’s success at other schools he could have avoided current problems in the summer and prevented potential problems throughout. He would have avoided parents being upset because this new program interfered with summer plans. He also would have avoided parents being upset over the choice of books to pick from out of the 30 books. Not all the books in the bank were read and approved. Some of the books were inappropriate and should not have been included in the book bank. The principal should have used situational awareness upfront to avoid these mishaps. C. Communication Plan

I believe the principal used a Socratic communication plan in this scenario. He talked through the new policy with the reading teachers. He checked to see if the policy aligned with the school's mission, vision, and core values. He used horizontal communication, letting the reading teachers brainstorm and work through ideas for the new policy. Diagonal communication was used when the principal addressed the other stakeholders in the school to discuss the new policy proposed. However, the principal's communication plan was limited to the reading department teachers devising the plan. These teachers were given free rein on coming up with the summer reading program. In evaluating the principal's evaluation plan, he did a good job communicating with the teachers involved in implementing the new policy but did not notify all interior and exterior stakeholders. The program would have benefited if the principal would have included the students, parents, and community in the communication plan. Including the students and parents and garnishing their support would have been crucial for the success of the program. Communicating with libraries, bookstores, and online resources would have made sure that resources were available to complete this reading program. Many students could not complete the summer program because of accessibility issues and lack of funds to purchase books. Social media could have been used to communicate with external stakeholders. Information for this new policy could have been posted on the school's website or social media page. If posted ahead of time external stakeholders could have voiced their concerns at the start of the program and any inappropriate books could have been vetoed from the list of the 30 books. C1. Communication plan Improvement Stakeholders should have been part of the communication process. Students and parents should have been notified. Their input would have made this summer reading program much

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more successful. The principal could have set up meetings, sent home letters, or sent out a virtual video to all students and parents involved with the program. If libraries and bookstores would have been notified, they could have prepared to have the number of books available to students. Communicating with all stakeholders would have addressed issues with upset parents and accessibility to required reading. D. Culture of the School The principal knew that this new program would change the culture of the school. He knew it would affect internal and external stakeholders. He was transparent and inclusive with the internal stakeholders. He was transparent and inclusive specifically with the language teachers. He trusted that the language department could create a program that would help improve reading scores. He included them in the decision-making for this new policy. He was transparent with other internal stakeholders letting all teachers know about the new school policy and asking for input on the new policy. The principal did not include external stakeholders. He did not notify or communicate with students, parents, and the community. He did not include external stakeholders in the decision-making of this new policy. This caused a disconnect between the school and the external stakeholders. There was no transparency with external stakeholders, trust was lost in the new principal's decision-making, this had a direct effect on school culture. Parents were blindsided, they were upset with the new policy. Parents did not approve of all the books in the bank of books and many students did not have access to these books. Overall the lack of communication and loss of trust with the external stakeholders had a negative effect on the school climate and culture. D1. Alignment to Mission, Vision, and Values

The principal had to make sure the new policy was in alignment with the school's mission, vision, and values before he gave the green light. The policy aligned with the Mission Statement for the most part. It allowed students a rigorous educational experience that was individualized based on the choice of books they decided to read. When students improve their reading skills they can better contribute to a changing and diverse world (WGU 2019). The new policy is partially aligned with the Vision Statement. The policy gives all students a better opportunity to exhibit high standards of achievement. By completing this new reading program, students would have the opportunity to improve their reading test scores. The principal did make sure that the policy aligned with some of the school's Core Values. He believed that the policy put the students first, knowing results matter, and he believed this would help improve students' reading test scores. The principal could have better aligned this policy with the school's core values. D1A. Improvement Alignment Although the principal aligned much of the new policy with the school's Mission, Vision, and Values, he missed the mark on a few things. The Mission Statement says, “In partnership with parents and community…” (WGU 2019). He missed the mark here. He did not communicate with the parents and the community. He did not present this new policy to the students, parents, and community. This led to upset parents and a lack of book accessibility. This in turn made this policy almost impossible for students to achieve success. The principal could have nurtured that partnership with parents and the community if he would have communicated the plan for the new policy with them and asked for their input. If all stakeholders were on board with the new reading program and all reading material was approved and accessible, this new policy would have been a success.

The new policy did not totally line up with the Vision Statement- All students did not show high standards of achievement and critical thinking skills (WGU 2019). 35% of the student population did not complete the reading program. Not all students were socially responsible. The principal could have checked in on these students and held them accountable over the summer. If he had checked in to make sure these students were exhibiting high standards of achievement the policy would have better aligned with the school's vision statement. The new policy was not fully aligned with all the Core Values. “Parent and Community Partnerships are Essential”. (WGU 2019). The new policy did not exhibit a partnership with parents and the community. The principal excluded external stakeholders. He could have researched other schools' data on similar policies to see how communication and implementation of those policies were handled. He could have held the students more accountable by checking in with them over the summer. He also could have been more transparent in his leadership with external stakeholders, which may have prevented many of the shortfalls with this new policy and would have maintained a positive school culture.

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References Green, R. L. (2017). Practicing the art of leadership: A problem-based approach to implementing the professional standards for educational leaders (5th ed.). Pearson. Marzano, R. J., Waters, T., & Mcnulty, B. A. (2005). School leadership that works: From research to results . Hawker Brownlow Education. Marin, J. P. & Moore D. L. (2018). Course Publication: Leadership Foundations & Ethics Western Governors University, November 2018 Cautionary Leadership Styles Western Governors University (WGU, 2019). Leading Change Assessment Video Wgu.hosted.panopto.com. https://wgu.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx? id=cbb528b2-f0d -4092-9ad9-a98801322e22

D016 Task 1

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